It seems awful. Everything is blamed on the waiter if anything goes wrong despite things beyond the waiter's control. Also, long hours and very little advancement. Also, dealing with horrible, entitled customers.
Sounds like a job that would be hell on Earth for a hard-core introvert like me!
--Michael D. Clarke
It's no less a misunderstood nor underappreciated job than a dentist.
shareIt's not so glamorous but can be a pretty good gig financially, even at a place like Applebee's. It also depends on the state though because places like California pay their base minimum wage (the highest in the country) + tips, whereas states like South Carolina have an alternate minimum for employees like servers that basically amounts to nothing so that they only make tips and are virtually free workers relative to the employer.
shareBeing a waiter can be a good job where I'm from, especially if you're young. The salary is almost median and you get 6 weeks paid vacation as well. Entitled customers at restaurants are not so much a thing here either, although they do exist. I have personally never seen someone raising their voice or using a "tone" when complaining to the waiter/staff.
shareI did it as a teenager. It’s a good way to gain experience, but not a long term gig.
Never piss off the waiting staff - once they go through the door to the kitchen, you have no idea what they’re doing to your food 😳😬
It's a service industry job that's not meant to be long term depending on the person. If you are a woman all you have to do is look hot and put your tits on display and you'll make a ton of money. Go to Twin Peaks or Hooters and the ladies who work make a killing off of gullible and stupid men.
shareIt's a pretty soft job all things considered.
Gas station attendants and garbage men working when it's -30 Celsius, now that's rough.
This.
It's also so varied depending on the place and position that for some it's not a long term position while for others it can be a career. A friend of mine serves at a five star restaurant in Las Vegas and routinely brags to me about making $1200 a night and meeting people from Congress all the time. Even people working at four star places in small cities pull in $400 or so a night and that's well above the daily rate of many other jobs. It's still not something I'd choose, and for sure I wouldn't be as good at it as my friend is, but there's no denying it's a job that's easy on you, that didn't take some huge investment of time and money for training or education, and that can pay very well.
This.
Most server jobs are something you do until you can get a better gig, but servers at high-end restaurants can make big bucks, at least where tipping is the custom. Of course those jobs don't go to anyone who walks in off the street and proves they can carry six plates at once, those jobs go to the very best servers. The most charming, the most organized and unflappable, the master carvers or those who can make a performance out of presenting complicated dishes, etc. But I presume that in order to get a good gig like that, a person has to put in years at crappy places, alongside the bulk of people who are waiting tables for less than minimum wage.
Being a waiter is one job thankfully I have never had to do.
shareYou can make a ton of money if you don't blow all your money on blow.
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